“The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, despair, solitude! These had been her teachers - stern and wild ones - and they had made her strong, but taught her much amiss.”

This quote from the novel is able to represent how the scarlet letter itself was able to become a symbol of Hester’s identity. While it’s original intent was that of shame, to show her what she did wrong, and to use her as a lesson for others, because of the way in which the scarlet letter exposed her deepest sins, Hester was able to accept herself for the way she is and move on without said, ‘shame, despair and solitude.’